Pump-control and register-resetting interlock for liquid dispensing apparatus



Aprll 17, 1956 w, MITNIK 2,742,186

PUMP-CONTROL AND REGISTER-RESETTING INTERLOCK FOR LIQUID DISPENSING APPARATUS Filed March 3, 1955 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 fl 2 V r-w "1 E t bihorneys.

M L INVENTOR,

Aprll 17, 1956 w P, MlTNlK 2,742,186

PUMP-CONTROL AND REGISTER-RESETTING INTERLOCK FOR LIQUID DISPENSING APPARATUS Filed March 3, 1955 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVEN TOR, {j fillian fil /1722131 BY C'ZQpQ/fM.

Aprl] 17, 1956 w, M|TN|K 2,742,186

PUMP-CONTROL AND REGISTERRESETTING INTERLOCK FOR LIQUID DISPENSING APPARATUS Filed March 15, 1955 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR, William I? Milka By Y'M Apnl 17, 1956 w. P. MITNIK 2,742,186

PUMP-CONTROL AND REGISTER-RESETTING INTERLOCK FOR LIQUID DISPENSING APPARATUS Filed March 3, 1955 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Apnl 17, 1956 w. P. MlTNlK 2,742,186

PUMP-CONTROL AND REGISTER-RESETTING INTERLOCK FOR LIQUID DISPENSING APPARATUS Filed March 3, 1955 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 JZiar/zeym United States PUMP-CONTROL, AND ,REVGISTEERESETTING 1131- izLock FOR LIQUID DISPEN$1NG AlPA- RATUS 1 William P. Mitnik, Westfield, Mass, assignor to Gilbert invention relates to an improved mechanism for t fi interlocking the control member for thedispensing means of a liquid dispensing apparatus, .such for example as ,a gasoline dispensing apparatus, with the means for resetting the register that indicates the quantities dispensed, for the purpose of preventing dispensing during resetting and resetting during dispensing and for compelling resetting aftereachdispensing operation. I I The invention has for an object the provision of an improved interlock mechanism of the type described that is especially adapted for use with a register-resetting means of the type in which the reset shaft is axially shift- 1 able from an inactive position to an active position and,

while in the latter position is rotated one revolution in one direction to effect the resetting.

The invention will be disclosed with reference to one illustrative embodiment of it in the accompanying drawlags, in which I 1 is a sectional elevational view of a dispensing apparatus embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary cross sectional view taken on the line or" Fig. 1 and drawn to a larger scale and showing the ihterlock mechanism positioned to permit resetting of the register and to prevent pumping;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional plan view taken, on

the line 33 of Fig. 2; a 1 i Fig. 4' is a View taken similarly to Fig. 2 but showing theinterlo'ck' mechanism positioned to permit pumping and'to'pi'event' resetting of the'r'egister;

Fig; 5 is a fragmentary cross sectional view taken on the line 5 -5 of Fig. 3 and showing the control member liitcliedihfiii position;

Fig. dis a View taken similarly to 5 but showing ad iife rent relative positioningjof certain parts and show: ingthe controlmerhber iii""on position; and I,

Fig;- 7 is a' fragmentary sectional plan view showing the mountiti'gpf the latching means for the dispensing co trol member. I p I Referring to "thesedrawingsand first to Fig. 1 thereof, theinvention is. shown, by way ofillustrative enamplejas ei'r'rbotiicfld in a'gasoliiie dispensing apparatus of well lnown form; This apparatus includes a dispensing m' filiidj such ,as gasoline, from an underground storage tattle (not shownl through a suction pipe G-andforce it outwardlythrougha dispensing conduit, whichincludes adiexiblehose 7 having on its outlet end a valved hose nQaZl'e Si This dispensing-conduit has in'terposed ltherein an nir-separator 9 anda displacement meter 10, This meterto the'hose-T The elenient shown at'14 affords a--liquid;-recoveryl chamber; that receives liqiiid and/ or airl from the air separator 9' by way of a pipe 1 5, ventsft e: alrhto the atmosphere hy'iway are pipe -16*and"returhs a pumpl, drivehby an electric motor 2 through, the'belt and pulleysd and 5 and adaptedto draw'up,

, pipe 17.

and a portion of pipe 13, are suitably supported as;indi- 2,742,186 fihtented Apr. 17, 1956 ice the liquid to the suction sideof pump lby way of a from the. base and a cap 22 surmounting the upper ends or such sides. v v w i s The meter 10 drives through a vertical shaft, 23ja register 24 mounted on top of thecap. 22 and having suitable] indicating means to showthe quantity-ofuliquid ,riispen's'ed. These means include a plurality of counter wheels 25' whichare revoluble around a shaft 26 arid are suitably driven from the meter shaft 23. ,,The numbers on these wheels are visible through Windows 27'provided in the casing of the meter, The shaft 26 is utilized for resetting the counter wheels to zero and is, provided with a knob 28; whereby it may be manually. moved for this purpose. To reset the register, the knob 28 is pushed to the right, as viewed in Fig. 1 from a position,-in which his inactive for resetting, as far as it will go to a second position, in which it is active for resetting, and..t'hen rotated one complete revolution in the direction in which the counter wheels count or counterclockwise as viewed in Fig. 2. The register is a standard article of commerce and its construction insofar as the counting and resettiri'g operations of the counter wheels are'concerned is shown in the Harvey N. Bliss Patent No. 2,610,794, granted September 16, 1952, to Veeder-Root, Incorporated Its shutter operating means is shown in the George-W. White Patent .No. 2,550,103, granted April 24, 1951, to the same tassighee. Reference is made to these patents for a' more complete disclosure of the meter if such is necessary desired. g I

The pump motor 2 has asuitable switch, mounted withinjafhousing 29 .and operable by a level-'30, shown elevatedin off position in Fig. 1. This switchis' operable from outside the pump casing bymeans of amaru u'al ly operable control member; 31 andsuitable connec-. tions; This control member is fixed tothe outei'leriii of. ashaft 32 'which isrotatably mounted in a bracket 33; suitably fixed to a crossplate 34. The latter (FigSL Z and 3) isfixed at its, ends one to each. of a pair of the chrner posts18andspansthe space between them; The

' nairiedpairof corner posts. Fixed to shaft 32 at a loca.

tion'between the two cross plates 34and 36 is an arm 37; which is connected by a link; 38 tothe outer end of arm 39, the inner end of which is fixed to a counter shitft dll. The latter is supported atits ends one if! eachbf'two cross plates l l, each of which islfixed'at itsends to'a pair of corner posts 18. Also fixed to shaft 40 is an arm 42 Whichis connected by a link 43' (preferably adjustable as to length as shown) to the described switch lever The control member 31, when positioned as shown in Fig. 5, maintains, through the links and levers described, the control memberfil, elevated in off or inactive position. Figs. 2 andflshow shaft 32 in the sair e positionas Fig 5. In this position, a projection e ijfig're i0 shslft 32 abutsa stop 45.,struck'up'froincfoss plate 341' The'control member, when released, is movable clockwise as viewed in Fig. 5, until a second projection 46 fixed to shaft 32 abuts the stop 45 as shown in Fig. 6. When the shaft 32 is thus positioned the control member 31 will be in on or active position to start the pump motor. These two projections are integrallyconnected with each other and also with a cam 47, the purpose of which will be later described.

The control member 31 is held in off or inactive position by means of the nozzle 8, when in place on its support 33 as above described. It is also held in off or inactive position by a latch lever 48 (Figs. 2 and This lever is pivotally supported intermediate its ends from a stud 49. This stud is fixed to cross plate 34, as shown in Fig. 7. One end of latch lever 48 is adapted to abut a shoulder 50 formed on the hub of lever 37. The latch lever 48 is moved from one of its extreme positions to another with a snap action by means of a toggle mechanism. A toggle link 51 is pivoted at its upper end on the stud 49 in back of the latch lever 48 as viewed in Fig. 5. Actually, this link has a hub on which the latch lever 48 is pivotally mounted as shown in Fig. 7. The lower end of link 51 is pivotally connected to the upper end of a second toggle link 52, the lower end of which is slidable in a lug 53 struck up from the cross plate 34. A spring 54 coiled around link 52 acts between the lug 53 and a shoulder on link 52 to hold the toggle links in one or the other of their extreme positions. The upper toggle link 51 has two cylindrical studs 55 and 56 which extend both forwardly and rearwardly from the link as best shown in Fig. 7. The forwardly projecting parts of these studs lie in the path of the latch lever 48 and the latter is moved by the toggle mechanism through one or the other of these projections. As shown in Fig. 5, the projection 55 abuts the latch lever and holds it in the illustrated position in which it latches shaft 32 against clockwise movement. The rearwardly projecting part of stud 55 (Figs. 3 and 7) lies in the path of the outer end of a lever 57. The latter (Fig. 3) has fixed thereto at a point intermediate its ends a stud 58, which is pivotally mounted in a bearing 59 fixed to cross plate 34. When this lever 57 is turned clockwise as viewed in Fig. 2 or counterclockwise as viewed in Fig. 5 by means to be described, it will engage the rear part of stud 55 and swing the toggle link 51, compressing spring 54 until the pivotal connection between'the two toggle links crosses the line that interconnects the centers of stud 49 and the hole in lug 53. Then, spring 54 will suddenly expand and rapidly move the toggle link 51 to carry the projection 56 against the latch lever 48 and move the latter with a snap action in a direction to release the latch from shoulder 50, as shown in Fig. 4. The movement of the latch lever in this direction is limited by the abutment of its upper and right hand end with the hub 60 of lever 57. The rearwardly projecting portion of stud 56, when positio'ned as shown in Fig. 4, lies in the path of the above described cam 47 (see also Fig. 7) and, when control member 31 is moved counterclockwise into active posi tion to start the pump motor, the cam 47 will engage stud 56 and swing the toggle link 51 in a clockwise direction, compressing spring 54 until the pivotal connection between the two toggle links crosses the aforesaidline of centers, whereupon the spring 54 will suddenly expand and move the toggle links into the positions shown in Fig. 6. In the course of this movement the stud -55 will move lever 48 back against the hub of lever 37 so that when the control member 31 is turned into inactiveposition to stop the pump motor, the latch 48 will drop behind the shoulder 50 to prevent subsequent movement of the member until the register 24 has been reset.

The release of latch 48, as above described, is effected by movement of the lever 57. Movement of this lever is eflfected from the register 24 by turning movement of the reset shaft 26 near the end of the register-re:-

setting operation.

4 As shown in Fig. 3, a circular disk 61 is slidably keyed to the reset shaft 26 and is held against axial displacement between the end frame 62 of the register and one of the counter wheels 25; Fixed on'disk 61 is a pin 63, which at the start and end of a resetting operation occupies the angular position shown in Fig. 2. In the resetting operation, shaft 26 and disk 61 will turn counterclockwise one complete revolution bringing pin 63 back into the Fig. 2 position. Mounted in the path of movement of the pin 63 is one end of a lever 64, which is pivotally mounted intermediate its ends on a shaft 65 that forms part of the register and has a bearing in the end frame 62. The other end of lever 64 is connected by a link 66 (preferably adjustable as to length as indicated) to the outer end of an arm 67 which is fixed at its inner end to a countershaft 68, supported at its ends in bearings in plates 69 and 70, suitably fixed to a pair of corner posts 18. Also fixed at one end to countershaft 68 is an arm 71, the other end of which is connected by a link 72 (preferably also adjustable as to length as indicated), to the described lever 57. The pin 63 on the disk 61 will, as it nears the end of its revolution engage the outer end of lever 64, as indicated in Fig. 4, and depress such end, raising the other end and through link 66, the arm 67 which turns countershaft 68, raising arm 71 and lifting link 72 to swing lever 57 clockwise and cause it to move pin 55 and the toggle links as above described. As soon as the toggle links have been moved across the described line of centers,-their movement will be completed by the toggle spring 54 and the lever 57 can then move back to its former position which occurs gradually as pin 63 rides along the lever 64 and finally off the outer end thereof.

Actually, the disk 61 is part of the commercial register and is used to control the operation of a shutter that covers the windows 27 and conceals the numbers on the counter Wheels 25 during the resetting operation, all in a manner fully disclosed in the above-named White patent. Briefly the disk ,61 has a segment gear 73, for intermittently meshing with the 8 tooth portion of a triplex pinion 74, loosely mounted on the shaft 75 that carries the transfer pinions for the counter wheels 25. This pinion has in one rear transverse section eight teeth; in a central transverse section six teeth and in an outer transverse section four teeth. The last-named teeth control the operation of theshutter, letting it fall at the start of a resetting operation and raising it at the end of a resetting operation. The disk 61 occupies the central transverse section and cooperates with one of the six teeth and one of the four teeth pinion sections as shown in Fig. 4 to hold the pinionagainst turning except at the start and end of the resetting cycle. For the purpose of this invention, all that is necessary is to add the pin 63 to the above disk although a separate disk with a pin could be mounted on the reset shaft in the same way for the purpose.

' It is necessary to prevent resetting of the register during operation of the pump and this is accomplished by preventing axial movement of the resetting shaft 26, whenever the control member 31 is moved out of its off position. For this purpose, the member 31 is made to actuate a lever 76, which is pivoted intermediate its ends on the described shaft 65 of the register. One end of this lever 76 is movable in a plane transverse to the axis of the reset shaft 26 and closely adjacent one end thereof (Fig. 3). When the control member 31 moves to on position, the lever 76 will be swung clockwise from the position shown in Fig. 2 to carry its right hand end into the path of axial movement of shaft 26, thereby preventing such movement, which as above set forth is necessary in order to reset the counter wheels to zero. As shown, control member 31 and lever 76 are interconnected as follows. The left hand end of lever 76 is connected by a link 77 to the outer end of an arm 78 which 5 is fixed at its other end to a sleeve 79 mounted to turn on shaft 68. Also fixed to sleeve 76 is an arm 80 which is connected by a link 81 to arm 82 fixed on the shaft 32 of member 31. Thus, as the latter is moved from off to on position the lever 76 moves into the path of axial movement of the reset shaft 26 and prevents resetting of the register until the control member 31 is moved back to off position. 1

The invention thus provides improved interlocking mechanism between the pump control member of a liquid dispensing apparatus and the resetting means of a register that indicates the amount of liquid dispensed. The invention is designed .for use with register resetting means which includes a reset shaft that is movable axially and rotatable to effect resetting and serves to prevent pumping during resetting, resetting during pumping and to compel resetting after each pumping operation.

What is claimed is:

1. In liquid dispensing apparatus of the type having dispensing means, including a pump motor and a control member movable from an inactive to an active position and vice versa to respectively start and stop said motor, and a register, including indicating means arranged to register the quantity of liquid dispensed and means for resetting the indicating means to zero, said resetting means including a reset shaft which is axially shiftable from an inactive to an active position and in the latter position rotatable through one revolution to effect resetting of the indicating means, a latch for-holding the control member in inactive position, a disk slidably keyed to the reset shaft and having a pin projecting from one face thereof, a lever having a part lying in the path of rotary movement of said pin and adapted to be moved thereby near the end of the rotary resetting movement of the reset shaft, and means interconnecting said lever and latch for actuating the latter to release the control member at the end of the resetting movement.

2. In liquid dispensing apparatus of the type having 6 dispensing means, including a pump motor and a control member movable from an inactive to an active position and vice versa respectively start and stop said motor, and a register, including indicating means arranged to register the quantity of liquid dispensed and means for resetting the indicating means to zero, said resetting means including a reset shaft which is axially shiftable from an inactive to an active position and in the latter position rotatable through one revolution to efiect resetting of the indicating means, a latch for holding the control member in inactive position, a disk slidably keyed to the reset shaft and having a pin projecting from one face thereof, a lever having a part lying in the path of rotary movement of said pin and adapted to be moved thereby near the end of the rotary resetting movement of the reset shaft, means interconnecting said lever and latch for actuating the latter to release the control member at the end of the resetting movement, an interlock member mounted for movement transversely of the axis of the reset shaft from a first position, in which it is located closely References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,040,815 Brouse May 12, 1936 2,128,499 Peter et a1 Aug. 30,1938 2,149,609 Lennart Mar. 7, 1939 

